Sin of Silence
by Anita
Summary: Zaara meets Veer one last time before he heads back to India.


I think that though Veer and Zaara are amazing people, even they would crack under some of that pressure a bit. Also, I've been hit with quite a bit of Bollywood inspiration, so expect some more fics from me soon. :)

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Sin of Silence

"What are you doing? You shouldn't be here, Zaara."

The night is still and silent, the world is already asleep. Pitch black, only the twinkling stars in the sky provide any light. But even they are oblivious to the sorrow they are sheltering beneath their grandiose sky.

"I needed to see you again. One last time."

Veer turns away, overwhelmed. Can't she see what she is doing to him? She sets his soul on fire, and when she leaves, he will have to pick up the ashes. Alone.

"You can't keep doing this to me." He pleads, his voice dry and hollow.

"Veer…" The name sounds trite on her lips.

She wants so badly to call him her own. She wants to take back the words she had spoken earlier in the afternoon. How can she imagine life without him?

She just wants to take away his pain. She can't stand the shattered look in his eyes. His strength is wearing thin. So is her resolve.

He touches her then, cupping her cheek. He hopes that his gentle touch will calm them both, but instead it tears them apart. She feels a strange anger welling in the pit of her stomach. She knows she doesn't deserve this.

They can't help but feel like they are falling to pieces.

He pulls her closer, vying for her embrace. She abruptly pushes him away, burning in his touch.

"Don't." The single word is stern and sudden. It is filled with fury and passion like he has never seen. She is certain she has never felt this way before. She feels a rawness in the depths of her soul.

Nothing has ever been this cruel.

"Zaara…" He begins, searching for a way to placate her, but he knows it is a futile endeavour. There is no way to make this right. "I am sorry." He mumbles. But she already knows that none of this is his fault.

The tears begin to sting at her eyes and she wonders if there will ever come a time when she stops crying. Will she ever truly be happy ever again? How will she look her husband in the eye and not speak Veer's name? When images of Veer's village haunt her dreams, how will she curb her restlessness?

This time, he places his hands on her shoulders and she does not move. She does not shrug off his touch. She memorizes it, embellishes it. It may be the last time she allows his embrace to brand her as his. He stares straight into her soul starkly.

"Zaara, go. Leave."

He never wants her to leave his sight, but one more moment and he knows he will never let go. Having found her now, what joy can he find in life by this separation? How can he erase the memories they have built together? Will he ever find peace again in this world?

Flustered by his words, she utters the first thing that comes to her mind. "Please, tell Maati and Babuji…tell them 'thank you'."

He looks to her in shock. His Babuji will be heart-broken upon his return. Empty-handed. She was the daughter they had always wanted. She had brought smiles to their faces, smiles he had not seen them wear for decades. Maati wanted to hold her close and never let her go.

"Why are you here?" He asks again, finding he has no other words.

What can she tell him? What is he willing to hear?

She doesn't know why she came. All knows is that she never wants morning to come. Zaara can envision her mother's outrage if she found out she returned to see Veer one more time, after putting her father's life in danger. She never wanted to hurt her parents, the ones who had raised her with such love, building dreams for her future. She couldn't throw all of that away.

But when she looks at the man in front of her, she feels something different, so strong she has no choice but to speak the words.

"I'm in love with you, Veer."

He watches her as her eyes go wide in shock at her own confession. Without another word, without another glance at him, she runs. She runs as far and as fast as she can. She needs to hide the tears that will not stop flowing.

Veer can only watch her disappear once more, feeling himself slipping farther into oblivion. He is a man filled with regrets.

And now, most of all, he regrets that when she told him how she felt, he was unable to return the words.

It is a scar that will stay with him for a lifetime.


End file.
